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Ride 4000 miles a year and see if you don't lose fat.

I do about 2000 miles a year and I can tell you, you have to be very careful about not correspondingly bumping your diet if you want to achieve weight loss.

I might lose 5 pounds a season in a typical year, despite burning close to a thousand calories a day. But my bet is much of the reason for that is offset eating.

I specifically said lose fat instead of saying lose weight. I bet you are in better overall shape and your cardiovascular system is much better than if you had not ridden that 2000 miles. Weight alone is a poor measure of health, imo.

I'd make the claim that I don't lose much fat, either, as that would imply a corresponding increase in muscle mass (explaining the lack of weight loss), which doesn't seem to be the case. 'course, I haven't gone and gotten a caliper test done, so who knows, I could be wrong.

Of course, I agree wholeheartedly that I'm healthier at the end of a cycling season than before. You just might not realize it by looking at my physical proportions.

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